Kabul Students Clash Over University Name

By

Yaroslav Trofimov And

Habib Khan Totakhil

Oct. 8, 2012 4:50 p.m. ET

KABUL—Violent street demonstrations broke out in Kabul on Monday, highlighting ethnic tensions over President Hamid Karzai's recent decision to name a university in the Afghan capital after a leading figure in the country's 1990s civil war.

Several hundred students clashed with riot police and a rival student group, throwing rocks and blocking some of Kabul's main roads. The police made numerous arrests. There were no reported serious injuries. Mr. Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said later in the day that the Afghan...